…AFC says leaked emails aimed at political mischief

The Alliance for Change (AFC) on Monday maintained that it was not consulted on the appointment of Justice (ret’d) James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Last month, Justice Patterson was appointed GECOM Chair by President David Granger.

His appointment sparked much controversy and resulted in the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) declaring that it will no longer cooperate with government in matters of national importance.
Recently, internal emails leaked by persons from that party indicated that the party’s leader, Raphael Trotman and party co-founder, Khemraj Ramjattan had advised President David Granger against selecting a chairman for GECOM from the second list of nominees submitted by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

In fact, the emails said when asked by the President for their opinions, both Trotman and Ramjattan, who are attorneys, informed him that if he too is uncomfortable with the names put forward by Jagdeo, then he should go ahead and appoint a GECOM Chairman in accordance with the proviso within Article 161 of the Constitution.

The party did not dispute the content of the email but noted its circulation on social media and described it as ‘political mischief’ being perpetrated by ‘political opponents’. “While there is need for confidentiality in discussions from time to time, the party is confident in and proud of its track record of open, frank and forthright discussions on issues, and as the email in question confirms, robust internal exchange of information and ideas on critical matters,” a statement from the AFC said Monday.

Moreover, the party said that the internal missive occurred after the second list of candidates for GECOM Chairman was presented to President Granger “only with reference to the powers of the President to make an appointment outside of a submitted list if he deemed such a list to be unacceptable.”

The President subsequently requested that a third list be presented by the Opposition Leader “and it was only after such a list was provided that President Granger acted in his own deliberate judgment and within the provision of the Constitution.”

“The party restates its position, and the email confirms this, that it was not consulted on the appointment of Justice James Patterson as GECOM Chairman,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, days after Justice Patterson was sworn in as GECOM Chair, the AFC expressed full support of President Granger’s decision to appoint him GECOM chair. Patterson was appointed mere hours after the President had informed Jagdeo that his third list of nominees for the post was unacceptable. In fact, the AFC in offering its support had said that Justice Patterson’s appointment averted a looming constitutional crisis.

“It is regrettable that after three protracted rounds of consultations and submissions, each of the three lists fell short of the requirements of the constitution. The party recognizes that the necessity had arisen for the President not to further delay the appointment of a Chairman,” AFC stated.

In that statement, the AFC acknowledged that the Constitution allows for consultation purely between the President and the Leader of the Opposition, and, made it clear that it played no part in the selection process. Notwithstanding, the AFC disclosed its intention “to use the constitutional reform process to ensure that there is wider participation of stakeholders in the selection of GECOM commissioners.”

“The AFC holds GECOM to the highest standards of electoral integrity and will stridently challenge any threats to the preservation of our democracy,” the party stated while chiding the Opposition for what it deemed to be reckless and unpatriotic behaviour with respect to non-cooperation.

The party at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held last weekend at the Georgetown Club, formally endorsed the party’s decision to lend support to the decision of President David Granger in appointing Justice Patterson as GECOM Chairman.